Redwood City Transit District unlocks transit and housing

The Transit District presents a rare opportunity to plan for and invest in the future of regional transit. If the Transit District is ultimately approved by the City Council, redevelopment proposals can move forward and unlock 1 acre of land needed for the rail improvements central to the Caltrain 2040 Service Vision Plan. With that land dedication, Caltrain will be able to upgrade the Redwood City Caltrain station and expand train capacity on the Peninsula. This will also enable future improvements that will better connect downtown to the transit center and El Camino Real. These investments further Redwood City’s commitment to mass transit, following the overwhelming support of Measure RR which created a dedicated funding source for Caltrain in 2020.

By aligning with RWCmoves, the El Camino Real Corridor Plan, and RWC Walk Bike Thrive, the Transit District will help get more commuters out of cars and onto SamTrans, Caltrain and active modes of transportation, further reducing single-occupancy car trips, traffic and pollution. The Transit District will benefit Redwood City, neighboring cities, and the entire region.

In addition to the transit improvement, the Transit District allows up to 1,100 new homes. Redwood City has been a leader in new housing development and has met 106% of its total housing need set by the Regional Housing Needs Allocation for the 2015-2020 cycle, but there is more work to be done. With the Transit District plan, Redwood City can utilize about 16 acres of land to satisfy almost a quarter of its new RHNA requirement — building hundreds of homes at all income levels near transit, important community resources, and other amenities.

Despite these efforts, concerns about the “jobs/housing balance” continue to be raised in discussions about the Transit District. Balancing the jobs and housing ratio must be looked at through the larger context of the city and region. A 2020 study conducted by Redwood City determined that an all-housing or a less office/more housing project is not financially feasible at this site and would defeat the broader goal to advance a key element of the region’s public transit blueprint.

Beyond the extraordinary housing and job opportunities the Transit District presents, the plan also advances Redwood City’s Climate Action Plan by empowering active transportation with bicycle and pedestrian improvements and utilization of public transit by placing job centers directly adjacent to Caltrain. Caltrain’s expanded service will also help support the ridership of up to 180,0000 daily Caltrain passengers system wide, equivalent to taking nearly a million vehicle miles off Bay Area roads and reducing 110 metric tons of GHG emissions every day.

Redwood City should seize this opportunity to finally fulfill the vision the council set forth when it began the Transit District process in 2019 and achieve long-term economic, environmental and equity benefits for generations to come.

Jason Baker is the senior vice president, Infrastructure & Regional Partnerships at Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Ali Sapirman is the South Bay and Peninsula organizer, and affordable housing advocate at The Housing Action Coalition.